New Canaan honors Art Potts for 30 years of preserving open space

Land Trust president stepping down this week

This sign welcomes visitors to the New Canaan Land Trust parcel entrance on Valley Road. The sign was put in place last month and the property will be open for public use in the near future. (Art Potts photo)

New Canaan Land Trust board members show of the groups new logo in summer 2012. Pictured are Chris Schipper, left, Judy Dunn, Art Potts, Arthur Congdon (logo graphic designer), Haik Kavookjian, John Engel, and John Fusek show off their new logo. Missing from the photo are Hugh Halsell and Jeff Hemmings.

Exiting New Canaan Land Trust President Art Potts will soon have a day in town he can call his own.

First Selectman Rob Mallozzi III has officially declared Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, as Arthur G. Potts Jr. day in New Canaan for Potts’ dedicated decades of service to the Land Trust.

To laud Potts’ accomplishments, during the Land Trust’s annual public meeting Tuesday, Jan. 22, Selectman Nick Williams will present Potts with Mallozzi’s proclamation for his 30 years of service on the Land Trust. The meeting is at 6 in the Plaut Room of New Canaan Library.

“He was the driving force of the Land Trust,” Hugh Halsell, a long-time member of the Land Trust told the Advertiser. “He has worked tirelessly on the board and as president he did all the work there. He is a very dedicated person.”

During the meeting, Potts will hand over the reigns as president to member Chris Schipper.

The Land Trust, which has more than 300 acres under its stewardship, was founded by Jack Gunther in 1967. Gunther was the group’s first president and served until 1982. Potts was the second president since it was founded nearly 50 years ago.

“I do feel like New Canaan has benefited from what both of these gentlemen have done,” Schipper said. “Jack founded it and led it for the first 15 years and then Art for the next 30. The Land Trust has benefited from that continuity of leadership.”

Schipper said since Potts joined the Land Trust board in 1982, nearly 100 additional acres have been gifted to the trust and more than 30 acres have been granted in conservation easements. In addition, Halsell said that Potts, who is a lawyer, did all the legal work for the Land Trust and took care of property maintenance.

The Land Trust, which has a new logo to revamp its image and raise awareness, is close to opening one of its trails along the reservoir on Valley Road. Schipper said the group hopes to open the site within the next six weeks, after members finish some stonework and install two gates.

The Land Trust holds about 311 acres — 260 acres in perpetuity in a natural state for the benefit of all New Canaan residents to wander through the woods, open pastures and trails, as well as 51 acres of conservation easements that are still owned by private individuals.

According to the organization, “Calculations show that the average New Canaan family lives within 1,000 yards of a Land Trust property, and 500 homes directly abut or are located across from Land Trust sanctuaries.”

Much of the Land Trust’s sanctuaries are parcels of donated land. Funding is also donation-based and the organization operates on about $10,000 a year.